“Yes, Master Ethan, but may I ask a question?”
“Always, sweet girl.”
“Then what will happen?” My voice trembled on the last word and Ethan’s tone instantly turned to one of concern.
“Lena. I will never hurt you and I would never leave you here. I want to set you free, not keep you a prisoner.” His words rang true.
“I am ready.” Ethan tied my wrists and after walking me forward, lifted my arms above my head to where I remember seeing a hook hanging from the ceiling. He removed my blindfold.
“Look at how beautiful you are.”
Now I could see why he chose this room. It was covered in mirrors, even the ceiling. What I saw shocked me. My skin was flushed with desire, and my unruly hair had fallen from the messy bun to spill around my shoulders. With my arms up, my breasts were thrust slightly forward, and my nipples were hard and swollen. I stared, never having seen myself during a scene.
Ethan moved behind me, stroking me with the horsehair brush. “You’re fucking perfect. A goddamn goddess. Look at how wet you are.”
He ran the handle of the brush down my inner thighs and I whimpered with need. My eyes hooded and I was gone, allowing the weight to drop as I relaxed my stance.
“Are you floating?”
“A little, Master Ethan.”
“Then I’ll hold you down.” He circled me. “You like being watched, don't you?” His voice softened, was teasing now, coaxing me.
“Yes, Sir.”
“You want someone to see the cracks. The part of you that still thinks she needs to be perfect.”
Holy cow! I didn’t respond. How could I when he’s said exactly what I’ve been hiding, apparently unsuccessfully.
“That wasn’t rhetorical, Lena.”
“Yes, Master… Ethan.” I almost missed adding his name. That would have been a huge mistake, or would it have been? To call him Master only was insinuating that I belonged to him. I had negated his offer to wear his collar during this scene, therefore, I also gave up the right to call him that.
He stepped closer. His body heat rolled off him in waves.
“I see you now, Lena. Even messy I want you. Trembling, gasping, falling apart on my fingers or otherwise. Say you are mine.”
Was he a mind reader? How did he know that this was what I’d been wanting since he’d first stabilized my breathing by the pond. A soft gasp escaped my lips. He gently tipped my chin with just one finger.
“Say it.”
“I’m yours, Master.” He didn’t request it of me, not in so many words, but by asking me to claim his dominion in this scene, he was.
“Because I earned it?”
“No, Master Ethan, because I chose you.” And I did. In that moment something inside of me shattered and a new Lena emerged. One that knew exactly what she wanted. He untied the rope and I slumped into his chest, eyes closed, weightless.
“You were perfect in your honesty.”
“Thank you, Master Ethan.” He lifted me off my feet and held me like I weighed nothing. He stalked to the chaise lounge and moved several blankets before sitting down with me in his arms. He wrapped me in a linen sheet and then the fur. I was relaxed and happy for the first time in forever.
He gazed at me as if I was made of something precious as he stroked my hair. “You didn’t just gift me your submission,” he said softly. “You gave me your fear and let me hold it.”
“I did. I didn’t know surrender could feel like freedom.”
“Now you do.”
CHAPTER 14
